


By the Light of the Forge

by FantasiPDF



Category: Spies Are Forever - Talkfine/Tin Can Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Alternate Universe - Pirates of the Caribbean Fusion, Attraction at first sight, Barb is a gunsmith, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Love at First Sight, Not Love, Pirates of the Caribbean AU, Pre-Relationship, Tatiana is a noblewoman, Tatiana’s a whole gay mood, but like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 11:13:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19886659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantasiPDF/pseuds/FantasiPDF
Summary: Tatiana is sent on an errand to the local smith, where she runs into a kind of trouble she would never expect.





	By the Light of the Forge

**Author's Note:**

> Big big thanks to the SAF discord server!! U guys are the best

Tatiana trudges through the filthy cobbled streets of Port Royal, hoisting up her excessive skirts to keep the hems from dirtying. She is a  _ noblewoman  _ goddamnit, she shouldn’t have to run her own errands, but  _ apparently  _ the butler usually in charge of fetching her weapons came down with a nasty cough. She sighs to herself wearily, expression a mixture of frustrated and forlorn. She supposes it can’t be helped, the waitstaff have been overworked as of late, preparing for an upcoming visit from some important government official or another. Truly, she doesn’t mind having to fetch a thing or two every now and again, but this fucking  _ dress _ kept weighing her down. In the thick Jamaican heat, the layers of petticoats and stays acted as hostile insulators, stifling her breath and raising her internal temperature over what probably constitutes healthy. Perhaps there was some comfort in the fact that she is used to it, as most women of her social standing are forced to be, but she can’t bring herself to feel any joy at that.

She reaches into one of the pockets in her coral petticoat to pull out a lacy fan, opening it to it’s full, over-the-top glory before giving it a few good whips in front of her face, though it ultimately did little to cool her down. Angrily, she shoves the offending device back into her skirt, hiking up the hem a bit more while quickening her pace. The faster she gets to the smithy, the better. If there is any consolation, it would be that her childhood friend would be working the forge today, a practiced blacksmith sure to produce the highest quality blades in the Caribbean. Due to a combination of the hustle and bustle recently and her ever-strict training regimen, she hadn’t been by to see her bonafide brother in what feels like ages, though it had only been a little less than a week.

Lost in thought, she almost trips on a loose cobblestone in the road, the rock scuffing her somewhat new shoes in the process. That would be a fun one to explain to her caretakers. Normally, if she were to be running errands, she wouldn’t be dressed in such fine clothing, but  _ apparently  _ they are having a dinner guest that night, and  _ apparently  _ there won’t be time for Tatiana to get ready later in the day, and  _ apparently _ no, this particular errand can’t wait, and  _ APPARENTLY _ she is supposed to care about all of this! Each step she takes only serves to aggravate her mood further. She knows how to kill a man in more than one hundred and forty ways, with her bare hands alone! She shouldn’t have to deal with this pathetic excuse for fashion! She much prefers the light blouse and trousers she wears during her sparring sessions, but if she were to go out in public as a young lady of marriageable age, she would probably be  _ hanged for treason _ if her superiors are to be believed. (Of course, they aren’t, but as a woman Tatiana finds she isn’t in a very suitable position to agree.)

She finds her gait speeding up even more, borderline jogging, hoping that as soon as she gets the sword, she can leave. She loves Curt to death, she really does, but with how hot the forge gets, she doubts she could last a minute in the stuffy shop before passing out. Alas, a lady does as a lady must, and at this moment, this lady must retrieve a rapier to replace one she oh-so-tragically ruined in a sparring match the other day. Really, the sword is fine, the blade is perfectly sharp and suitable for combat, it’s just that a few of the decorative jewels had fallen out. Deliberately. With a knife. And yes, maybe there was quite a bit of blood on there too, but in her defense, she  _ had  _ tried to clean it off. The jewels were useless, and Tatiana didn’t see the need to keep them if she were to go undercover as someone even marginally poorer than she is, but her trainers argue otherwise. A lady does as a lady must, and a lady must look presentable in every sense of the word, no exceptions, no excuses.

After practically  _ days _ of walking (about ten minutes at the very most), she reaches the plain wooden double doors of her closest friend’s mother’s smithy. Above the entrance, a chipping painted sign reads  _ Mega’s Weapons and Armoury _ , a large chunk taken out of the bottom of the panel as if grazed by a passing bullet. Port Royal sure is a sophisticated city. Letting go of her heavy skirts with one hand, she reaches out to push one of the doors open, but before she can get a grasp on the iron handle, it slides inward with a gush of hot air rushing out in its wake. Tatiana has to take a deep breath to steady herself, her tightened stays proving to be her arch nemesis time and time again. She looks up to meet the face of Margaret Mega, possibly the sweetest person on the planet as well as a master smith and her best friend’s mother. Upon seeing Tatiana, her eyes light up, her mouth lifting in an easy grin. Tatiana braces herself.

“Tati! My little lady! How have you been lately? I haven’t been seeing you around as much as usual,” she gushes, reaching out her (thankfully, clean) arms to envelop Tatiana in a crushing embrace. If she wasn’t already choking in her outfit, she definitely is now. Despite the somewhat painful hug, she feels a small smile grace her features as well, carefully lifting her own arms to wrap around the women. Graciously, the embrace is brief. She can feel herself start to breathe again, realizing she had unintentionally been ignoring the woman’s ramblings about this and that. Ms. Mega leads the noblewoman inside her shop, racks of swords, knives, chainmail, and various other metal crafts lining the walls, a large forge taking up most of the other side of the building. She turns to Tatiana with a smile, and asks, “So are you here for that rapier? I knew you’d need a new one eventually. That one lasted you longer than usual! Three months, right?”

Tatiana nods, but before she can formulate a proper response, an unfamiliar figure bursts out from behind the forge, holding an ornate pistol in small, bandaged hands. The woman is short, cropped blonde hair streaked with dirt and pulled up into a messy updo, not that it did much to keep the hair out of her face. Her nose is black with soot, and spots of oil dot her cheek in the shape of fingerprints. Once again, Tatiana doesn’t find herself able to breathe. The woman shifts the gun into one hand, the other reaching up absentmindedly to push her choppy bangs out of her face. A bright smile lighting up her expression, she shouts to Ms. Mega, “Another one’s finished! I’ll have to do one more round of testing once I finish a few more to make sure they all shoot properly, but it shouldn’t take too long.”

Tatiana didn’t know Ms. Mega has a new employee.  _ Fuck _ . She's motherfucking  _ radiant _ , the glow of the forge only serving to illuminate her features. Her ash-covered face gleaming with sweat and mirth alike, Tatiana feels some sort of spark within her, not dissimilar to that of a hammer striking a red-hot blade. Time passes so slowly in that moment. The new hire turns to her, smile never wavering, her mouth opening as if to speak. Before she can even make a sound, however, Tatiana cuts her off.

“I can’t breathe,” she gasps, and everything fades to black.

**Author's Note:**

> Might do a follow up to this. If I have time I’m gonna turn it into a full Thing, but hey, we’ll see. I have a mermaid au thing I’m workin on rn too so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
